Rancho Punta de la Concepcion facts for kids

Rancho Punta de la Concepcion was a large piece of land, about 24,992 acres, in what is now Santa Barbara County, California. This land was given out as a grant by the Mexican government in 1837. Anastacio Carrillo received this grant from Governor Juan Alvarado. The rancho stretched along the Pacific coast, from Point Arguello south to Cojo Creek, which is just east of Point Conception.

History of the Land

Early Explorers and Names

The first Europeans to see Alta California were Spanish explorers in 1542. Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo led a sea trip up the coast from Baja California. He found a safe place to anchor his ships on the south side of a noticeable point of land. Later, in 1602, another Spanish explorer named Sebastián Vizcaíno sailed along the California coast. He gave that important point its current name, Point Conception.

For many years, Spanish ships involved in the trade with Manila (in the Philippines) might have stopped along this coast in emergencies. However, no lasting settlements were built there for a long time.

The first land exploration by Europeans in this area was the Portolá expedition in 1769. Gaspar de Portolà led this group. On August 26, 1769, they camped near a creek that flowed into the ocean at a sheltered bay. Cabrillo had used this bay before. From a high spot, they recognized the point of land beyond as the one Vizcaíno had named. At almost all the coastal creeks in this area, the explorers found villages of the native Chumash people. These people mostly got their food by fishing in the ocean.

A missionary named Juan Crespi, who was with the expedition, noticed that the village chief had a lame leg. So, the soldiers called the village "Rancheria del Cojo." "Cojo" means "lame man" in Spanish. This bay is still known as Cojo Bay today.

The next day, the explorers went past Point Conception. They camped near another native village close to where Jalama Beach County Park is now. This is just south of the Vandenberg Air Force Base boundary. The soldiers named this village "Rancheria de la Espada." "Espada" means "sword" in Spanish. They chose this name because one of the natives tried to run away with a soldier's sword.

On August 28, the expedition moved to a campsite at a creek that flowed into the sea from the south side of Point Arguello. The next day, August 29, the group went past this point and headed north. They were going towards the mouth of the Santa Ynez River. The soldiers found special rocks called flints for their firearms near a rocky point. They named this point "Pedernales," which is the Spanish word for flints. Today, Pedernales Point still has that name.

The Rancho Period

Anastasio José Carrillo (1788–1850) was an important person in early California. He was a soldier at the Presidio of Santa Barbara. In 1834, he was a commissioner at Mission San Gabriel Arcángel. In 1837, he was given the Rancho Punta de la Concepcion. This land came from the former holdings of Mission La Purísima Concepción, which had been taken over by the government.

After California Became a State

After the Mexican-American War, California became part of the United States in 1848. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo said that the land grants given by Mexico would still be honored. So, in 1852, a claim for Rancho Punta de la Concepcion was filed with the Public Land Commission.

The land was surveyed in 1860, and a special document called a patent was given to Carrillo in 1863. However, Carrillo did not accept it. This was because a half-mile square area where the Point Concepción lighthouse stood since 1852 was not included. Carrillo appealed this decision. Finally, in 1880, the grant, including the lighthouse area, was officially given to Anastacio Carrillo.

In 1851, Carrillo divided the rancho into two parts. The western part was called Rancho La Espada, and the eastern part was called Rancho El Cojo. Both of these names came from the Portolá expedition's early discoveries.

Rancho La Espada

Rancho La Espada, meaning "the sword," was about 16,500 acres. It was originally part of the larger Rancho Punta de la Concepcion. In 1851, Carrillo sold Rancho La Espada to Isaac J. Sparks. The next year, in 1852, Sparks sold it to Gaspar Oreña. Later, in 1867, Oreña sold Rancho La Espada to Thomas Dibblee. In 1879, the ownership changed again, and Rancho La Espada went to William Welles Hollister. In 1883, Captain Robert Sudden bought the rancho. Robert Sudden was from Scotland and used to be a sea captain. He came to California during the Gold Rush and later became a businessman.

Rancho El Cojo

Rancho El Cojo, meaning "Ranch of the Lame," was about 8,580 acres. It was also originally part of Rancho Punta de la Concepcion. In 1876, General P.W. Murphy bought this rancho. Murphy thought that Cojo would become a very important port once the Southern Pacific Railroad arrived. However, the railroad did not reach Point Conception until 1899. Because of this, Murphy lost Rancho El Cojo through a bank foreclosure.

In the 20th century, the Bixby Ranch Company owned Rancho El Cojo. In 2007, it was sold along with the nearby Jalama Ranch for about $155 million. This sale covered about 25,000 acres. In December 2017, The Nature Conservancy bought it with a $165 million gift from Jack and Laura Dangermond. They did this to create the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve, which helps protect nature.